MARY J BLIGE LIVE!! | LENOVO CENTER
Coverage by Chris Sturk
We covered the legendary singer Mary J Blige during her tour stop in Raleigh NC at the Lenovo Center on Friday January 31st. She performed to a sold out arena and made sure to leave a forever indelible mark for every music fan in attendance. Mary sounded incredible and was not only energetic but also personable as she engaged with the crowd throughout the night. The only hiccup of the entire show was a two hour delay due to some stage equipment that did not arrive on time. The show was originally supposed to start at 7:15pm but was pushed back until about 9:15pm with Neyo opening up the show. Mary J did not hit the stage until 11pm so it was a long night but her performance was worth the wait.
She had an interesting stage set up. There was one stage in the back of the venue which was on the opposite side of the main stage that had VIP seating which included really nice soft white couches that people could relax on. This smaller stage is the one that the in-house DJ used to keep the crowd dancing throughout the night. This is the stage that Mary J used to rise up from under the stage and start her performance. Once the lights in the arena went out there was only one spot light that lit up the back stage and the entire arena went crazy! May J was slowly raised up from under the stage dressed in this leopard style printed one piece, large fur style coat and a huge hat. As she walked the stage she started singing and people just started dancing, screaming, yelling her name and just going wild.
After she finished her first two songs on the back stage she was placed in this large platform that raised her above the crowd and slowly brought her to the main stage at the front of the arena. She continued to sing while she was on that platform up in the air. It was a wild and exciting thing to see.
Mary J Blige is an icon in the world of music and continues to leave her mark and pave the way for young artists moving up in the world of music. This was the second show of this particular tour and though we had a bit of a delay and a bouncy start to the show, it was worth the wait just to see her perform and put on such a great concert. Don’t miss this legends tour stop in your area, it will be a concert you will remember forever.
